Flowers and Fancies
by sofiacentric
Summary: Before Princess Amber's annual spring celebration, Prince Desmond prepares a symbolic gift with the help of Professor Pecullian.


**Flowers and Fancies**

 **Chapter Summary:** Spring has sprung, so Princess Amber throws a party to celebrate, leaving Prince Desmond flustered.

 **Chapter One**

Spring was in the air. Flowers were in bloom, the breeze smelled sweetly and was filled with the songs of birds- even the sun seemed to shine a little brighter.

As soon as Princess Amber had felt the change in the weather she began the preparations for her party. Spring had always been her favorite time of year (aside from Wassalia, of course), and she had thrown festive parties every year to kick off the season ever since she could remember. Her festivities had started off small, of course- small picnics for her family and friends, then later into formal teas and luncheons, to the eventual grand parties and balls thrown to celebrate the world waking up again after a long, cold winter.

Only a week had passed since spring had sprung when Amber happily distributed the invitations to this year's "Spring Spectacular", as she liked to call it, to all her classmates and friends at Royal Prep.

"My, Amber, you've really outdone yourself this year with the invitations!" said Hildegard, admiring the fine details of the floral design and the swooping and elegant calligraphy on the paper. Clio and Jun nodded in agreement. Amber smiled proudly as she placed more wax-sealed invitations out on everyone's desks before class started.

"Thank you, Hildy. Baileywick himself wrote them out, you know! He's truly got a talent for it, don't you agree?" Amber trilled happily. She nodded in satisfaction after completing her task- and just in time, too, as her fellow classmate's began to stream in, smiling in delight as they noticed the bright envelopes on their desks. Amber perked up immediately and took to the front of the class as everyone began to talk excitedly about the party.

"Everyone, may I have your attention please! I, Princess Amber," she began with a regal flourish and a small curtsy, "am pleased to invite you all once again to my Spring Spectacular this Friday evening!" The class erupted in cheers and claps as Amber smiled brightly. She continued by giving a brief review of the party's activities, which included fun games and attractions, a fresh berry and fruit tasting, lively music and dancing- everything befitting a merry time all up to Princess Amber's usual regal and grandiose event standard. This year's theme revolved around flowers, and the royals were encouraged to dress up festively for the occasion.

Only one student had felt his heart sink at seeing the invitation on his desk.

Prince Desmond had listened halfheartedly as Amber detailed the festivities to the class, staring at the envelope with dread. When Professor Pecullian had begun class for the day, Desmond found himself unable to focus on his lesson, his eyes glued to the invitation on the corner of his desk. He had hardly taken notice, too, that class had been dismissed for recess before he realized Mr. P had been looming over his shoulder for quite some time with a pleased smile on his face and a raised brow. He clapped a friendly hand on his shoulder and shook him playfully, making Desmond jump and gasp in alarm.

"Prince Desmond, my dear boy! You've been sitting her for quite a while now- I dismissed everyone else for recess a few minutes ago! Is there anything on your mind?" He asked, his eyes flashing between him and the yellow envelope on his desk. Desmond's cheeks flushed a little and he looked away, standing up quickly to leave. Mr. P always seemed to know what was on his mind, and given the kind of thoughts he was having, he would rather not discuss them with his professor due to his embarrassment.

"N-no, I'm fine Mr. P, I just got lost in a thought, is all," Desmond responded hastily as he tried to make his way out. Mr. P chuckled quietly as he took the invitation in his hand to study it.

"Princess Amber is going to host quite the soirée this Friday, isn't she?" Mr. P called out innocently, knowing fully well Desmond would stop in his tracks at having been found out over what he was troubled with. Desmond turned back to face his teacher, ever faithful to his manners of cordiality- even in unfortunate situations like these where he only wanted to run from a conversation, _especially_ this one. Mr. P's eyes twinkled with a knowing look as he continued to admire the envelope before he extended it out to Desmond, who took it gingerly.

"Spring is a wonderful season, isn't it? The birds chirping in the air, all the flowers blooming everywhere. She's truly picked a fantastic theme again this year, and one I believe you're well versed with, am I correct? It would be an excellent opportunity for you to dazzle everyone, in particular the gracious hostess of this party, with your ample knowledge of flora, I think. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time," Mr. P continued indulgently, winking at Desmond conspiratorially. Desmond nodded politely and murmured in agreement before he effectively fled the classroom, sighing in relief as he turned a corner.

He was definitely flustered to say the least.

He hadn't quite known when things had changed. Amber had always been a good friend to him, that much he knew for certain. She often praised his intelligence and organizational skills, which he had always found very flattering, and although she had a tendency to be melodramatic sometimes, he in turn had always appreciated her refined perspective and her passionate determination.

Of course, Amber was also very pretty, but everyone knew that.

It had only been recently that year where he felt more inclined to acknowledge that quality of hers, however. He found himself feeling increasingly more nervous whenever her attention was turned to him, or whenever she paid him a sincere compliment here and there. His stomach would tie itself in knots and he would feel lightheaded and full of butterflies. Even more nerve-wracking was when Amber would choose him to be her partner for a project now and again. Of course he figured she only chose him for his intelligence rather than out of a personal preference because she wanted a good grade on the appointed assignment, but he was still always honored to even be considered a candidate in her book where so many other willing options were available to her. Any time he spent with her had his heart beating with a warm and fuzzy feeling.

But of course he was far too timid to ever admit his feelings to her.

As he sat alone on a bench beneath a tree, Desmond watched Amber and her friends chat in their tight circle. Amber smiled brightly and fanned herself absentmindedly, her golden curls blowing lazily behind her shoulder. Desmond shyly turned away, focusing instead on a small patch of flowers growing near him on the grass dejectedly. They were common dandelions, swaying gently in the breeze. He plucked one from the ground and twirled it in his fingers as he began to think about what Mr. P had told him in class.

It certainly _would_ be a good opportunity to talk to Amber, that was true, but he really couldn't do that, at least not freely anymore thanks to his silly crush. His tongue tied itself up whenever he tried to speak to her nowadays- he'd only make a fool of himself if he tried to impress her at the party. Desmond sighed, blowing out his dandelion, wishing silently that he could find a way to share his feelings somehow _without_ actually saying anything at all.

Just then, an idea popped into his head.

Desmond sat erect as his mind began to run a mile a minute, his eyes ablaze with newfound courage and motivation. A small smile began to creep onto his face as he quickly got up to head towards the school library.

Professor Pecullian had been gazing outside the window with his hands clasped behind his back at his gloomy student before the young prince had sat upright and dashed back inside the school building heading towards the library. A pleased and knowing smile had broken onto Mr. P's face then as he sighed with immense satisfaction at his handiwork afterwards, the twinkle in his eyes only gleaming brighter.

 **Author's Notes:**

Well, it looks like I finally caved in and started to work on some accumulated prompts I've had in mind for a while! I was mostly motivated from nostalgia to write since the show is now officially and sadly over- either way it had a wonderful run, and I'll miss all the characters and stories deeply. Still, just because the main story has already ended doesn't mean new ones can't crop up from fans, right?

This story will probably only be around 2-3 chapters long, like a slightly more extended one-shot, and will take place prior to series finale events- I'll leave you, the readers, to decide for yourself when exactly in the show's timeline this story takes place to your own liking.

I absolutely love Amber and Desmond, and I feel like they'd have a lot of potential, so this is actually just one of the two other ideas I'd like to explore regarding these two and a possible budding romance scenario for them. Of course, they're both still children while they're at Royal Prep, so don't expect anything very deep in terms of a passionate romance, but do expect some shy sweetness, hehe. I'm also very fond of Professor Pecullian, so expect to see more of him and his meddling in future fics I have planned, haha!

Thanks for reading! Chapter 2 should be coming out soon. :)


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